Theodore R. Johnson
@drtedj
Writer | Contributing columnist @WashingtonPost | Senior Fellow @NewAmerica | Navy vet | ΩΨΦ | HBCU-educated
This year is the Semiquincentennial but it looks to be doing its best imitation of the Sesqui from 1926
If you want to get a sense of a nation, watch how it celebrates its birthday. But if you want to know the character of a country, consider it over larger chunks of time. The question at the quarter-milli is one of national identity: Who does America think it is?
We all knew the moment in partisan gerrymandering was coming. This, from last September: wapo.st/4trKI7N (🎁 link)
With 80% of votes counted, this redistricting referendum in Virginia is much closer than the polls suggested. I think "yes" will win, but a margin this slim means late night column tweaks lie ahead
Trump managed to stumble into gains with a changing Black electorate wapo.st/4mBGeIq
Young people are not becoming more MAGA/conservative - they either 1) voted against the incumbent party due to the economy or 2) they voted against (or not at all) Harris/Dems agenda that some deemed too left or not left enough for their taste. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/26/o...
He’s fired two other four-star service chiefs in his first 30 days, both women and historic firsts. It’s pretty clear what anti-DEI means in the Pentagon.
Trump chuckles it up at The White House for Black History Month one day - and the next fires Chairman CQ Brown without cause and bans Black History Month at the Pentagon.
Five years ago, my former colleague at @brennancenter.bsky.social Liza Goitein wrote a prescient piece on how presidents use/abuse emergency powers. Worth revisiting: www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
A question for the Bluesky backyard gardeners/floriculturists, any idea how fuchsias do indoors? I’m trying to keep this guy thriving over the winter #Hummingbirdfuchsia
“If We Are Brave: Essays from Black Americana” is an essay collection that explores Blackness and democracy, religion, affirmative action, police brutality, national anniversaries, and DuBois’ twoness. www.harpercollins.com/products/if-...
